Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-05-14
CITY AND DISTRICT.


s08 Speck OF Yellow METAL th2t St0rteSl
the Great Excitement
Tow BOTTLED Up AND sAvsbv KEPT AT THE Ma
HosAL kUsEUA-A TALK WITH AN ARGONACT-
IARLY SCENES In SAN FRASCISC0-THE RKSTLkSy
rROsYBcTERs-
The original cause OF the great California gold
fesef-the first fever GERMS at the National
Museum 1t is securely sealed In little glass bot
Tie, and there is no longer any danger OF conta-
Yion- 1t Is little fattened piece OF gold about
She size OF gold dollar. II Is the piece found by
Marshall while digging mill race the year before
the fever set in II was sent direct TO the Smith
sonian In August, 1S4S. The following Is a copy
Of the letter that accompanies It:
SAN FRANCISCO, August @, 1s4s.
This paper contains the first piece OF gold ever
a,soyered In Northern part Of Upper California.
shall In the race OF Capt Jno. A. Suffers sawmill
about forty 1--WE miles from Suffers FORK on the
South branch Of the American Fork. TWAS beaten
out with q hammer by MI, Marshall TO test it's
maueabinty. 1t is presented TO the National In
stitute, Washington, d. C.
j. L Folsom was a captain In the United states
service There are many pieces Of gold in Call
lorna cLalIned 10 be the first found, but none OF
them have the facts In favor Of their claim. The
discovery OF THIS piece OF gold by Marshall led TO
seed that up TO 1850 had produced sl-2O0 600. 600
In gold Prior 10 this discovery Indians and q few
missionary priests had been collecting some gold
IA other parts OF the state, but this was the very
nrst piece found In the gold belt and 1t led to the
great rush TO California In 40
RxCoILEcTIoNs OF AN ARGoNAUT.
DR.. r NJ. Dawes, the dentist OF West washing
ton, was one OF the forty-niners who started out
from Washington. He was talking over the mat
ter with STAB reporter for little while last even
"a party of he said, 'took sailing-vessel
at Baltimore in March, and we were seven months
and fourteen days making the trip TO san Fran
cisco. There were my brother and ex-senator
Sargent, then local reporter in Washington, one
there were quite a number Of others from Balti-
more TO make up the party. That was the way
Sargent nrst went To the state he afterward repre-
sented in the senate. We had a pretty hard vOy-
age. The captain OF the vessel treated us so
badly that when we got TO Rio de Janeiro
We complained 10 the consul and had him removed.
This caused delay OF fourteen days. Then at
Valparaiso we had 10 unload a steam engine and
other cargo, which caused delay or twenty days
more 1t Was very weary voyage before we got
10 san Francisco. sargent did not 60 all the way
with US. He got of at Valparaiso, and from there
member that he studied Spanish all the way
from Baltimore 70 Rio de JaneirO.
EARLY DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO.
when we arrived at San Francisco several of
our party who were carpenters stopped there.
They got SIG day for working at their trade
there, and thought it better than taking the
chances in the mines. There were six In my party
who went into prospecting. Everything was fever
and excitement there then. All sorts OF sensa-
uonal reports OF big nndS were circulated, but
there was not as much Outlawry as many
people suppose In SAN Francisco there was con-
siderable gambling. 1t was not much OF city
then. Ali the buildings were frame and the gam
bling houses were Ike the frame barracks they
put up for soldiers. The gaming rooms were In
'front.' and the bar in the rear. Gamblers would
pay $50 night for each table They never
counted the money. but just stacked IT up on
the table, and measured IL In that way. The gam
bierS were the only men who wore white shirts.
DISPENSING JUSTICE.
There were no courts. II man committed an
offense In the diggings he was tried by twelve
men selected for the occasion and their decisions
were prompt and Just. For that reason there
were few crimes committed. Our gold was LETT
IN camp without any one to guard 1t and 1t was
never stolen / would sometimes leave q days
digging in pan out In the sun TO dry. No one
ever disturbed it For serious crimes the Jury Of
twelve would hang man, for petty larceny they
would horsewhip him and give him twenty -four
hours TO get out OF camp. II a man sunk a pit
and threw a pick or shovel In It. be could 20 on
prospecting, and II he returned any time within
len days, he would find his claim TO the diggings
respected.
when our party landed he continued 1--WE
went 10 Sacramento, where we got three yoke Of
oxen and wagon that had come overland, and
started ior the disgings, well stocked with pro-
Visions We went first TO South Fork then 20
North Fork or Feather River There was so much
mud that We had 10 abandon our cattle and wagon
and carry our packs on our backs. We did pretty
WELL but was sick and had TO keep out OF the
trenches and give up mining for while. When
We dissolved partnership at North Fork a sack OF
-four fell to my share and sold IL for ZOO then
bought boat and gun and shot quail and jack
rabbits and sold them in san Francisco Quail
brought 81 and 81 per dozen dead, and Sl2 alive:
and Jack rabbits g and s. each The second time
i went back 10 san Francisco the cholera was
raging there. Men were dropping dead like sheep.
GOLD BY TIE PAINFUL
Il went into the diggings again, and we came
across big rock near middle fork standing hlGh
out Of the water. which whirled in a swift eddy
around it. We knew if there was any gold in that
locality IL would be right in this eddy, So we
filled bags with sand made a dam TO turn the
water aside so we could get at it. The very first
dlp OF my pan brought up $21s worth OF gold.
each got 500 as his share There were six OF us
AFTER we got that hole worked out we began
was too dangerous There were large loose rocks
overhead, and one day / Just saved myself by
swinging to ledge in time 70 let one pass under
stopped work there. The next ricn place we
struck was in Onion Valley. When we got there
day, but each OF US made from $50 10 $40 q day
The gold was in large nuggets. some were found
worth $50 10 30 IL was very late when we
struck there and could not stay long account OF
the cold We left party there, and my brother
tod him that they had been showed In without
fuel, and most OF them were severely froStbirten
and some died from exposure.
The RESTLESS MINERS.
"None Of Us got nch,- DR.. Dawes continued
''The trouble was with all the miners that they
did not stay in one place long enough to make it
pay IL they had been content to stay where they
Sns MaAi " s,S 10 ~ day, they might have
immense finds somewhere else, and they would
pun up stakes and move on only TO find that they
had been fooled No matter how well they were
doing report of something better carried them
OIL In this Way they spent as much In prospect
Ing as they Made In digging. Some OF them got
Terribly demoralized- i have Seen strong men
CRYING because they could not get home TO the
East. Their folks could not send them money 10
bring them back, and they could not earn enough
with all our good luck guess the most money
i had at any oae time Was about $500. Eacn
week the members OF q company had a way of
guessing at the amount OF g Id they had accunl-
lated, the man who came farthest from the mark
10 pay Tor bottle OF whisky. None Ut my COM
pdhy could made out how IL was that never had
10 pay FOR the WHISKY. always guessed last and
put The figures just between the two extremes: so
there was always some one farther from the mark
thanI
1t was roughing II with vengeance out there
nave slept out In the winter rains without tent
anu mercy something over my head 10 keep the
ram from Gathering my face, and little trenches
jug around my body 10 carry the water or"
DanenhOWeF.
20 rRICMPHED
Nntten for THE EVENING STAR